Work All Your Networks

Boston Globe

For an increasing number of jobs, particularly in technology, a strong online persona is essential, hiring managers say. If you are targeting a digital marketing company such as Getfused in Boston, for instance, the more diverse your social media footprint, the better your chances of nabbing an interview.

Getfused creates mobile and digital strategies for Legal Sea Foods, Harpoon Brewery, and the New England Patriots. The company is growing steadily, hiring eight people over the past year, and planning to add three to four employees a year over the next few years.

Spencer Collier, the company’s chief executive, said before advertising openings on job sites such as Monster.com, he taps his LinkedIn network. If you are connected to him and have a profile that matches the skills they are looking for, you may be asked to come in for an interview.

Collier also looks at posts on sites such as Adobe to see if potential employees are plugged in. He follows online forums and Twitter feeds, not only to measure skills, but also to get a sense if a potential hire will mesh with his company’s culture.

“You may have the best looking portfolio,’’ he said, “but if you are oil and everyone else is water, it won’t be a good fit.’’

When posting on Twitter keep your feed pertinent to your field, but not relentlessly so, say career specialists. Include links to your own blog posts or new information from other sources in the industry.

But remember to keep the social in social networking. Don’t assume the college chum you find on Facebook will be willing to stick his neck out if you haven’t seen him since the keg kicked 20 years ago. Meet for coffee. And let him know that networking goes two ways: You are ready to help him, too. Successful job seekers such as Rosenberg say staying in touch digitally is the tenor of the times, but there is no substitute for real human contact. “There is just something about making a personal connection that you can’t get through any sort of e-mail or social media,’’ she said. “It’s the difference between getting your foot in the door or not.’’